Hamas commander never carried mobile phone

Ahmed al-Jabari, the operational commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, kept largely out of the limelight.

Blamed by Israel for being the captor-in-chief of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, he confirmed that role by escorting Shalit to the handover when he was finally released last year.

Jabari was also heavily involved in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the soldier's release, hosted by Egypt.

Jabari, 52, was killed on Wednesday along with an unnamed associate when their car was blown apart by an Israeli missile. Palestinians said nine people were killed, including a seven-year-old girl.

Video from Gaza showed the charred and mangled wreckage of a car belching flames, as emergency crews picked up what appeared to be body parts.

Born in the Shujiya area of Gaza City in 1960, Jabari came from a noted activist family and studied history at Gaza's Islamic University.

Originally a member of Yasser Arafat's Fatah, he was imprisoned in 1982 where he first encountered some of the founding figures of Hamas, including Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, who would also be killed in an Israeli attack.

A key figure in Hamas, both politically and militarily, his rise to operational control followed the killings of both Salah Shehadeh in an Israeli air strike in 2002 and the serious injury suffered by his successor Mohammed Deif.

Jabari's links to the group's military wing were further cemented when he married Shehadeh's daughter.

He was credited with playing a key role in Hamas's violent imposition of its authority over its rivals Fatah in 2007 after the political wing of the group won elections a year earlier.

Known as "the general" in Gaza, he has long been a high-profile target of Israel. A 2004 air strike aimed at assassinating him killed his son and several other family members.

According to some accounts he never carried a mobile phone, fearing being traced by Israel's armed forces and its security service, Shin Bet.

He had become increasingly influential in Hamas's political decision-making process after Israel's Operation Cast Lead four years ago, the last major attack against Gaza, which caused Hamas's military commanders to take on a greater role.

Guardian News & Media

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